Aux Animaux ist das Solo-Projekt von Gözde Düzer, einer türkischen Künstlerin, die heute in Stockholm lebt. Inspiriert vom Sound der 80er Jahre arrangiert die Künstlerin seit 2017 kraftvolle, dichte und dunkle Elektro-Rhythmen mit magischer und eindringlicher Atmosphäre und verwebt darin ihre Liebe zu Horrorfilmen. Aux Animaux beschreibt ihre Musik als Hauntwave und verwendet bei ihren Kompositionen das Theremin mit seinem charakteristischen und etwas gespenstischen Sound.
Photos / 1: © Jannike Viveka / 2: © Jonas Fransson / 3: © Jannike Viveka
Who is behind Aux Animaux?
It’s me, Gözde, originally an Istanbulite based in Stockholm for the last 14 years.
How did the project come into being? What made you decide to start Aux Animaux?
I am originally a professional bass player. I first started Aux Animaux with a friend who was a classical pianist, so that’s how I got into synths as they thought they could use their piano skills with synths. But when they hopped off after a while, I continued on my own. I’ve been doing it solo since the beginning of September 2018.
If you had to describe your music in terms of not music … what would you say?
80s horror film inspired dark synth with haunting vocals and eerie theremin tunes.
What are you looking for in music?
I enjoy creating, building something brand new from scratch. But it’s not only making songs for me, I see myself as an audiovisual artist, and live performance is a big part of making music for me.
What are your first musical memories? When did you first fall in love with sound?
I have a vague memory of being a toddler and making my mom buy a cassette of a Turkish band M.F.Ö. and their album „Ele Güne Karşı Yapayalnız“. I think it’s quite a cool choice for a 3-4 year old tbh, I take pride in choosing that as my first purchased album. :) Other than that, like many others my musical taste really got shaped when I was a teenager. I didn’t have any older siblings to learn from, so I had to discover everything on my own.
Photos / 4: © Jonas Fransson / 5 +6: © Jannike Viveka
What impact do your surroundings have on your art?
I guess the dark and cold Swedish climate plays a role, we’re living in the dark for half the year, tbh it’s a trip. Other than that I definitely get inspired by my friends, other artists in the scene, and a lot of occult stuff, and definitely horror movies.
Which person, artist or incident inspired you when you first started making music?
John Carpenter and Portishead. John Carpenter’s movies and soundtracks are epic! In fact, a lot of artists whose music I like swear by his music too! Portishead has a special place in my heart. As I mentioned, I was a teenager in the mid 90s, so Bristol bands definitely left their mark on that era. You can hear my singing is inspired by Beth Gibbons on the first two EPs, but I think I’ve found my own voice now.
Where does your inspiration for music come from? Which sort of mood produces the best song?
Various things. Stuff that happens in the world, or struggles in my private life, or totally made up stuff. I definitely get inspired by horror movies, which you can hear clearly in my last EP, and will hear more of in the upcoming EP too.
What can you tell us about your recent album „The Hydesville Episode“? How does the birth of a new composition happen for you? How does your compositional process work?
Usually I find a bass synth that I like and then build the whole song around that. When I write lyrics I first sing a melody to the music, and write the lyrics afterwards. Usually the song shapes the lyrics, like some sounds come naturally that fit with the beat, so I keep those and build lyrics accordingly.
In „The Hydesville Episode“, I took a different approach. One of the things I dislike most is writing drums, so it was quite freeing to not to have to write any drums on this one. I have been really into soundtracks, such as those made by John Carpenter, Geoff Barrow, soundtracks for Stranger Things, Drive, and It Follows to name a few. It happened a bit naturally that I started writing songs like this during the pandemic, perhaps it had something to do with lack of socialisation during this time, I really don’t know. But I quite enjoy this EP. I. Interestingly, Luis Vasquez aka The Soft Moon also released a very soundtracky album a few months before, and Boy Harsher released an album that works as a soundtrack to their own short horror film, so it looks like I’m not the only one. This is also the first EP where I did everything by myself, produce, arrange and mix without co-working with anyone, so it really feels like it represents me as an artist and person.
How does the visual aspect relate and reflect your music?
The visual aspect goes hand in hand with my music, they complete each other. It reinforces the feeling of the music.
Photos / 7: © Jannike Viveka / 8: © Jonas Fransson / 9: © Jonas Enander
How would you describe the world you are trying to create during your performances?
I start the performance with a satanistic ritual. And the public is a part of this, so together we create the ritual. The rest of the performance can be considered as an outlet of this ritual, we lose ourselves together.
What’s next for you? What are you most looking forward to?
I’m planning on releasing yet another EP in the fall, this one will be a bit more dancy dark wave-ish, and I am already working on the one after that. I really hope to tour more now that the pandemic is mostly over, and I really hope I can tour in Germany, as well as other places in Europe too. Germany feels like the heart of the scene, so I really hope I can play there.
I’m also thinking about continuing to work on my own. If I cowork with another artist or band, people usually get the misconception that I just sang the songs, whereas it’s me that writes and composes the songs in the first place. So, it’s quite sucky when you don’t really get credit for all the effort you put into the songs. It’s already quite common to be discredited as a woman in the music business, and I’m not having any more of it.
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